May 19, 2011

Japanese quake inflicts US$1.2 billion of damage to aquaculture industry

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 11 has inflicted more than JPY100 billion (US$1.2 billion) in damages to Japan's aquaculture industry, which is worth one quarter of its annual output, a survey by the fisheries ministry released on Wednesday (May 18) said.

In the tsunami-ravaged prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi, the damage was particularly severe for oyster farming and wakame, or brown seaweed operations, according to the survey by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

The tsunami dealt a heavy blow to the central and southwestern Japanese prefectures of Mie, Kochi, and Oita. The final tally in damages is expected to be worse, as some prefectural governments, including those in Ibaraki, Chiba, and Fukushima, are still calculating the damages, they said.

Fishermen in various coastal regions also incurred damages as various species of fish, including white salmon, red sea bream, and yellow tail, either died or were lost during the tsunami-quake disaster, the officials said.

Statistics show that the nation's aquaculture industry produced JPY409.5 billion (US$5 billion) worth of marine products in 2009.